


my favorite person in the world

by madleidy



Category: Heroes of Olympus - Fandom, Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Genre: I Tried, M/M, Mortal AU, Oh, before I forget, childhood AU, i don't even know what to feel about this, there's a teeny tiny mention of percabeth and jercy, um enjoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-20
Updated: 2015-06-20
Packaged: 2018-04-05 08:04:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4172211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madleidy/pseuds/madleidy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>childhood bestfriends, what more can you ask for</p>
            </blockquote>





	my favorite person in the world

**Author's Note:**

> i tried, friends, i really did

(8)

"Percy, when we grow up I'll marry you!"

Percy stopped stacking the small, colorful bricks and looked at his 5-year-old friend. "What?"

Nico sighed with such a force that made Percy smile fondly. This friend of his was just adorable. "I said, I'm gonna marry you when we grow up!"

Percy definitely heard that right. "But why?"

His playmate-slash-friend stood, walked up to him, and put his squishy little hands on Percy's face and said, "Because you're my favorite person in the world and you're the person I like most!" Then he kissed Percy's cheek and sat back down to his place earlier. Percy was staring at his childhood friend and was a bit flustered.

"Hey, that's not fair! I thought I'm the one you like most!" Nico's older sister, Bianca, came in and sat beside her little brother.

"Well, it's different because you're my sister and Percy is Percy," Nico replied. The kid resumed stacking his bricks.

"How is that different?" Bianca insisted. At this point, Percy was sure that his friend was just teasing her little brother.

"It just is!" Nico stopped playing once again with his bricks and pouted at his older sister.

Bianca held up her hands and said, "Fine. I won't ask you anymore. But come to the kitchen with me now. The cookies are ready."

"Cookies!" Nico cheered and ran out of the room.

"One question," Percy said as he was standing, "are the cookies blue?"

Bianca was about to answer when they heard a loud, "YAY!" from the kitchen. She met eyes with Percy because that meant one thing. "Yep. You have a great influence over my little bro. That's his special request every time we make cookies."

"Well, what can I say, your little bro likes me more than you," he teased.

Bianca playfully pushed him. "Hey!"

Percy laughed.

\--

(10)

"Hey, Percy. Aunt Maria and the kids are leaving now," Sally called him.

"Coming, mom," Percy answered. He took a piece of paper and wrote something on it. He went down to their living room and saw Aunt Maria, Bianca, and Nico - a very pouty 7-year-old Nico. "Hey," he called. Nico snapped his attention to him and the pout was accompanied by tears streaking down his rosy cheeks.

"Now, now, Nico. Don't cry. Shhhh," Maria di Angelo cooed while patting her son's head very gently.

"But- but I'm not gonna see Percy anymore. And we're not gonna play together anymore. How will I marry him when we're going away?"

With that, Maria and Sally Jackson giggled.

"Nico, we'll come visit them monthly, don't you worry. And you're too young to marry Percy!" Maria said.

Upon hearing his mother's words, Nico's mood immediately changed. A smile broke out on his face. "Okay!" Then he ran towards Percy. "Did you hear that, Percy? We'll come visit! Don't be sad, okay?"

Percy smiled. "Who says I'm sad?"

His childhood friend was shocked. Already, Percy can see the tears pooling in Nico's eyes, threatening to fall any second. Percy knelt to come on an eye-level with Nico. He put a hand on the kid's shoulder.

"Hey, I'm just joking! Of course I'm sad! I'm gonna miss playing with you!"

Nico choked out a sob. "I'm gonna miss Percy too..." Then he hugged Percy.

"Hey, how about me? Don't I get to say goodbye to my friend too?" Bianca asked.

Percy let go of Nico and opened his arms to Bianca.

"Ew. I'm not gonna hug you. But I'm gonna miss you, okay?"

Percy smiled. "Fine. I'm gonna miss you too, Bianca." The older of the di Angelo siblings smiled and hugged Percy despite her words.

Nico tugged at Bianca's sleeve and beckoned her to come closer. He whispered something to his sister. Bianca's eyes shined with amusement. She turned to Percy again. "Oh, right. Percy, my little bro has something to give you."

That caught Percy's attention. "Yeah? What is it?" He looked at Nico, who would not meet his eyes. "Nico," he sing-songed, "what are you going to give me?"

Nico fidgeted and took something out of his pocket. "Um, here. Miss Gardner made us do necklaces for people we love and I made three. One for mom, one for Bianca, and one for you."

Percy took the necklace from Nico's plump hands. He studied it. A small wave-shaped pendant hung from a simple blue nylon string. "Cool. You made this?"

"Y-yes. Our teacher made us choose the strings and the things to put in them and I chose that one because I know you love the ocean," Nico replied. For someone his age, Nico was a very smart kid.

Percy put it on and beamed at his friend. "I like it. Thank you."

Nico beamed back at him.

Percy almost forgot the piece of paper he took with him. "Right. Bianca. Here's our phone number and address. If ever you guys wanna call or write..." he trailed off.

Bianca rolled her eyes. "You think I'll leave without that info? I already got that from your mom last night."

"Oh. Okay. Then, I'll expect your letters and calls." He turned to Nico. "Nico, you'll write to me, right?"

"Of course! I know how to write now! Of course I'll write to Percy!"

"That's good." Percy paused. He did not know what to say anymore. These kids were his neighbors since he could remember and they were definitely his best friends. He did not want them to leave. But that would be selfish. Besides, they would come visit, so it was not like he was not going to see them anymore.

"Okay, then. We'll leave now, Sally. Thank you for everything," Maria di Angelo said, interrupting Percy's thoughts.

"Bye, Maria. Take care in Washington, okay?" Sally said.

"Of course. See you in a month, Sal." And the two hugged. "Come now, Bianca, Nico," she called.

Bianca smiled at Percy one last time and Nico waved goodbye at him. Percy smiled and waved back at the siblings and the next moment, they were gone.

"Don't be all sad now, Perseus. They'll be back," Sally told him.

Percy sniffled.

\--

(14)

A few years passed and Percy maintained a good relationship with the di Angelo siblings. They still came to visit monthly and they never stopped writing to each other. Well, he and Nico never stopped writing to each other. The kid had just a lot of things to say. Especially about Mythomagic. He was hooked and Percy was glad. He was trying to learn it, but he just could not understand how the game went and Nico was laughing at him for it. Everything was fine.

Until one day, Nico's world turned upside down.

Percy was rocked to his core when he heard the news.

Nico's mother and sister were in a car accident that cost both their lives.

When Percy knew of this, he immediately called Nico.

"Hey, Nico," he greeted, trying to sound cheerful.

"Hey," Nico replied.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine, I guess."

"Are you sure?"

Percy barely heard it, but it was there. A choked sob. At that moment, Percy wanted to run straight to Nico and comfort his childhood friend. He felt frustrated that he could not do anything. "Nico, I don't know when we'll go there but I promise you I'll be there."

He heard his friend take a deep breath on this other line. "Okay," Nico exhaled.

The Jacksons were not able to go until a week after the funeral.

Sally Jackson rang the doorbell to the house of the di Angelos. A man with hair much like Nico's and wearing a black suit opened the door and welcomed them.

"Hello, I am Sally Jackson and this is my son Percy. We were Maria's neighbors back in New York."

"Ah, yes. Come in. Maria told me all about you when they came here," the man said. "I'm Hades, by the way, Bianca and Nico's dad."

Sally paused. "Oh. Nice to meet you, Hades." She smiled. "Interesting name."

Hades smiled back at her. "I know. My father was quite a fan of the Greek Mythology."

Sally let out a light laugh. "Oh, Maria said that all the time. She said your name was very well-fitting."

Percy tuned out the rest of the conversation and looked for Nico. They rounded a corner to the living room and there he saw Nico, sleeping soundly on the couch. Percy's heart clenched for his friend. Even with that serene face, Percy saw the sadness his friend had. How he wished he could make it all go away.

"Oh, he fell asleep," Hades exclaimed. "He hasn't been sleeping a lot since, you know..." Hades trailed off. "It broke my heart to lose Maria and Bianca but it also breaks my heart seeing my son like this. He's been particularly silent and won't talk to anyone, even me." Hades stopped and looked longingly at his son. It must have been some kind of a stare because Nico woke up. "Hey, son. You have visitors."

Nico looked a bit disoriented. It took him a few seconds to be aware of his surroundings, and when he did, he immediately saw Percy. He leaped from the couch and went straight to Percy.

Percy, not hesitating for one second, opened his arms and hugged Nico. The younger boy buried his head on Percy's shoulder. "Hey," he said as a way of greeting. "I'm sorry for being late."

Nico just shook his head. Moments later, Percy could feel his shirt soaked with Nico's tears. He held Nico as best as he could while the other boy shook with grief.

Percy heard the door close and knew that his mom and Nico's dad left them.

"How are you doing, Nico?" Percy asked after Nico calmed down and pulled him towards the couch to sit.

"I'm doing fine," Nico deadpanned. They met gazes and Percy knew he was not.

"Fine, huh?"

"Yup. Really fine."

"Okay. I was hoping you'll say that you're not fine because I brought you something that would make you feel fine."

Nico perked up a bit. "And what is it?"

"Why would I tell you? You're doing fine, right? You're not gonna need it."

Nico looked at him.

"What?" Percy asked.

His childhood friend sighed. "You know me too well. All right. Percy, I'm not fine. Not at all. I'm so sad because mom and Bianca are gone and I don't know what to do. I miss them so much although being with Dad helps me cope a lot. But I'm really not fine. I thought of talking to nobody, but when I saw you, I knew I had to talk."

Percy's green eyes studied Nico's dark ones. "Do you need another hug?"

"Yep."

And Percy once again hugged Nico with all he got to let his friend know that he was there for him.

"Thank you, Percy. I feel a lot lighter now."

"No problem, Nico. You know I'm here for you, right?"

"Yeah."

\--

(25)

"Really? You're going back to New York?"

"Yes, smartypants. How many times do I have to tell you?" Nico replied.

After Bianca and Aunt Maria died, it had been hard for Nico and Percy knew it. His visits to New York became more and more infrequent and sometimes days would drag without him calling Percy, so Percy had to call him first. Percy knew Nico needed space, but he was worried for his friend back then. Hades was also calling them a lot to tell them that Nico was starting to become distant from him. So instead of Nico coming to see Percy, it was Percy who came monthly to Nico in Washington to spend a weekend there. And so it had been a routine - call Nico every day to check up on him, visit him every third weekend of the month, send him letters about Percy's shenanigans in school. And Nico did not push anyone away.

Percy was thankful that Uncle Hades insisted that he look out for Nico. If he had not done that, Nico would have probably been a sad kid with no friend and just thinking about it made Percy sad himself.

Looking back, it was not hard to take care of Nico during those times Nico missed his mom and sister. Percy would just hug him and let him talk about them and maybe even let Nico cry on his shoulder and after that they were okay and Nico was smiling again. More than anything, Percy always wanted to see Nico smile.

And now, Nico was going back to New York. They were going to be neighbors again. They were going to have sleepovers again - although admittedly they were too grown up for that. They were going to eat blue cookies on the Jacksons' table again. They were going to be close again.

Percy was ecstatic.

"Hello? Percy? You still there?" Nico asked.

"Huh? Uh, yeah, yeah. I'm still here. I'm just happy we're gonna be neighbors again. Remember when we were kids?"

Nico laughed. "Of course I remember. How could I forget?"

"Remember the thing you always told me?"

"That I'm gonna marry you someday because you're my favorite person in the world?"

Percy smiled. He remembered the small Nico di Angelo the first time he said it. "Yeah, that."

"I never forgot about that. It was like my mantra way back then. Even when we moved here in DC. But-"

Percy's heart stopped. "But what?"

"I was only a kid and you were the only one I played with, except of course my sister. Naturally, you were my favorite."

Of course. Why would Percy even think that Nico meant those things? It was just a child's whim, that was all. It was hard to admit, but Percy loved Nico. It might have started as platonic love, but as they grew older, his feelings for his childhood friend grew stronger. He could not explain why, but he had always loved Nico di Angelo even when he had a girlfriend - Annabeth - and a boyfriend after that - Jason. "Right."

There was a long silence between them and it was broken by Nico's laughter.

"Wait, why are you laughing?"

"You," Nico said, still laughing, "you really think I don't think that way now?"

"Well, you said it."

"Percy."

"What? That's what you told me."

"And you believe it?"

"Well..."

"Perseus Jackson, you're still my favorite person in the world. You helped me in my rough times. Of _course_ you're my favorite person in the world."

"Um." Percy was happy to hear it. It was as close to 'I love you, Percy' as he could get.

"Don't 'um' me, idiot. What I'm trying to say is that I love you. Even when we were kids, I loved you. Always have, always will."

"Um." Did Percy hear that right? Nico loved him?

There was a knock on the door and Percy opened it.

"Is 'um' the only word you can say, Percy?" Nico di Angelo was standing there in front of him, outside his apartment. He put his phone down and smiled at Percy.

Was this really happening? Was he dreaming? Maybe he was dreaming. But then Nico was kissing him and he was kissing back and Nico was running a hand over Percy's hair and Percy let out a moan and Nico was pulling back. Was this really happening?

"So," Nico started, still running a hand over Percy's hair. "Do I get an answer, or was that my answer?"

This was real. Yes, this was really happening. Percy was only starting to realize that. He was standing outside his apartment and Nico just kissed him and everything felt perfect. "Um," he started again. "I- I love you, too, Nico. Yeah. I really do. And you're also my favorite person in the whole world."

Nico stopped running his hand over Percy's hair and smiled at him. He kissed Percy lightly on the lips and said, "Aren't you gonna invite me in?"

\--

(28)

"You're my favorite person in the world."

"Yes, Percy, I know. You're my favorite person in the world, too," Nico smiled and pecked his cheek.

Percy smiled. He took something out of his pocket. He showed the necklace Nico gave him all those years ago. "Remember this?"

"Yeah. You kept it all this time?"

"Duh. Of course I'd keep it. It was from you." He smiled. "It was a reminder of your promise to me."

"What promise?"

"Playing dumb, are we?"

Nico huffed in response.

"Your promise to marry me when we're all grown up."

"Oh."

"Well, I know you're gonna keep that promise," Percy said.

"How are you so sure?"

Percy took a box from his coat, opened it, and took out a ring with an engraving exactly like the pendant on his necklace. He took a deep breath and said, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Marry me?"

Nico stared at him. Then at the ring. Then at him again. He smiled so wide that Percy could not help but do the same. Nico kissed Percy on the couch in the living room of their apartment in the middle of Manhattan, muttered a 'yes' every time he took a breath and then went back to kissing Percy again.

Percy kissed Nico one more and smiled at him. He slipped the ring on Nico's finger and said, "There. Your promise is kept."

**Author's Note:**

> dearest Juliana, happiest birthday to you! i wish you all the best in life and may you attain all your goals and aspirations. thank you for being my friend all this time even though i suck a lot at maintaining communication with you. i love you, my dear friend. here's to our friendship! :) <3
> 
> (also i'm sorry for how this turned out. i'm a bit rusty in my percico muse. but i do hope you'll like it)


End file.
